June 2014 Whitesburg Magazine

Whitesburg JUNE 2014

PROSPEROUS LIFE How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers!

Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.

He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

Psalm 1:1-3

WHITESBURG BAPTIST CHURCH

Connect in worship, build relationships in LIFE Groups and

reach out to serve the community. God is doing something special here at Whitesburg, and we want you to be a part of it!

Sundays at Whitesburg: LIFE Groups 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00 am Blended Traditional Service 9:30 am Contemporary Service 11:00 am Evening Service 6:15 pm

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6806 Whitesburg Drive, Huntsville, AL 35802 256-881-0952

Inside

Whitesburg JUNE 2014

2 pastor’s bookshelf Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman

3 balanced & blessed

By Dr. Jimmy Jackson

4 camp!

By Anna Isom

Page 4 Camp!

7 kid’s space Fun activities!

8 freedom

Page 8 Freedom

By Shane Bowermaster & David Dye

12 leaving a legacy

By Dr. Lee Barnett

14 joy

By Ryan Ezell

16 Psalm 1

By Tom Fluker

18 a walk in the garden Special art display

the caring place

WHITESBURG BAPTIST CHURCH

Whitesburg magazine is a publication by Whitesburg Baptist Church, 6806 Whitesburg Dr., Huntsville, AL 35802-2299. (Permit No. 446) Publisher: Whitesburg Baptist Church Editor-in-Chief: Rev. David Dye Editor: Courtney Todd Graphics & Publishing: Melissa Schuster, Ron Snyder Editorial Assistants: Karen Tidwell, Beverly Dishman

19 Preparing for prosperity

By Holly Crosson

20 he restores my soul

By Trisha Stacey

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from the

pastor’s bookshelf

fan:

an enthusiastic admirer In the Gospels, Jesus never seemed too interested in fans. Is that how you define your relationship with Him? An “enthusiastic admirer”?

Close enough to Jesus to get the benefits but not so close to require sacrifice?

He was looking for followers.

Not just any follower though, but a completely committed follower. How would things change if you lived as Jesus lived, and loved the way He loved?

Maybe you’re ready to join the hundreds of people who have stepped across a line and said: I am not a fan.

- notafan.com “A good, down to earth evaluation of our walk with God is beneficial to any Christian. Kyle Idleman’s insightful book, “Not a Fan,” is a great read for both young and old. The question he raises is convicting and powerful: “Am I a fan of Jesus or am I a follower?” Concerned about - Dr. Jimmy Jackson your spiritual status? This will help!”

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BALANCED & BLESSED

By DR. JIMMY JACKSON If a person has

a choice between a life of success or one of failure, it would seem reasonable that everyone would go for success. After all, who in their right mind would declare: “My goal in life is to be a total failure.” Who would want to marry such a person? Who would want one of their children to have such an ambition?

No, we want to love a successful, fulfilling, and meaningful life. But how do we do that? In Psalm 1:1-2, we have some divine insights.

The writer announces that: “Happy and fulfilled is the person who does not follow the advice of the ungodly; nor stands around with those who live in sin; nor sits down with those who demean and make light of the things of God.”

Notice that this text starts with a negative perspective.

Some things must be avoided in order to have a prosperous life.

Then in verse two, the author adds the positive.

“But his delight and joy is found in the law (word) of the Lord, and he meditates on it day and night.

A balanced and blessed life is more than good health, hard work, financial success, and service to others.

Without a proper love for and devotion to Jesus Christ, life does not take us on into the presence of God in Heaven.

A prosperous and successful life has both the earthly and heavenly dimensions.

Bro. Jimmy is the Senior Pastor at Whitesburg Baptist Church in Huntsville, AL.

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Camp!

By anna isom

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” With the world screaming otherwise, how does a parent, in partnership with the church, accomplish this? A study, done by the Barna Group, concluded that 3 out of 5 young Christians depart from their faith either permanently or for an extended period of time. The Barna Group provided many reasons as to why this is happening. One of the reasons given was the average young person’s church experience is shallow or boring.

To give the children and young adults the training God commands, Whitesburg Baptist

Church offers a variety of camps to accommodate every age.

The purpose of these camps is to advance the Gospel and to encourage growth of a personal relationship with Christ. While at the camp, students partake in fun and exciting activities and fellowship in a Christ-exalting setting.

For elementary ages, Whitesburg offers Vacation Bible School and Winshape Camps.

Both VBS and Winshape are week long, daily camps spent at the church. When asked about Winshape, nine-year-old, Allison Northridge replied, “It was a ton of fun! The games were awesome and there was a different Bible verse read every day.”

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CAmp For grades 6-8, Whitesburg offers a four day long, overnight Middle School camp. Seventh grader Emily Pierce says, “My favorite part was the water park and, especially, the slide.”

Thirteen-year-old Ivy Broadway added that through last year’s camp Jesus revealed to her that she was just living for a religion and not a relationship with Him. Like middle school camp, high school camp is also a four day long, overnight camp.

This camp is offered to the 9th through 12th graders, as well as graduated seniors. While at the camp, high schoolers will have fun participating in many different activities like, 15-yearold, Cory Blackmon’s favorite: The Amazing Race. The youth will also study God’s word and learn how to apply it to their

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continued

lives. High school Junior, Kristen Denman says, “This will be my fifth time going to camp, and every year my passion for Christ grows and I am challenged to get closer in my walk with Him.” Whitesburg Baptist’s camps equip the next generation with the knowledge and tools needed to lead a Christ-centered life.

While the mission field is out in the world, it is also in the church. The Elementary, Middle School and High School camps give adults and students, alike, the chance to reach out to both believers and non-believers while also being encouraged spiritually. So, when the world says Proverbs 22:6 is unrealistic, Whitesburg Baptist Youth Camps have your back.

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Find these words

from Psalm 1:1-3, our theme verses for this magazine.

ADVICE DAY FRUIT HAPPY LORD

NIGHT PATH TREE WATER

Yum! Ice cream!

Work your way through the maze in this summer treat!

Did you know?

The ice cream cone was invented at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. An ice cream vendor ran out of serving dishes, so he teamed up with a nearby waffle vendor who rolled his waffles into cones!

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freedom By shane bowermaster & David Dye

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cost and commitment When

you

ask an

American what freedom means to them, most often you will get the same thoughtless answer about being able to do whatever you want without persecution or harassment from the powers that be. The definition will come with examples like the right to vote, or say what you want about the president, or how we have the freedom to choose our own religion. That is all well and good, because our founding fathers saw fit to ensure that freedom was established so that our “inalienable human rights” may not be trampled on by a dictatorial governing authority.

They believed, as do we to this very day, that we deserve freedom because we are all created equal and that we must be willing to fight and die for it as a nation. It is quite evident that freedom comes with a price. As a member of the armed forces, I can testify to that fact. We have to commit to protect our freedom, to ensure that it will be there for our posterity, and be willing to pay the ultimate price for

it. It seems safe to say that any sort of freedom worth having is accompanied by a lofty cost and an enduring commitment by those who seek its rewards.

Freedom in Jesus Christ is no different. It too comes with a lofty cost and enduring commitment. We know that our Savior gave Himself up for our sins, paying the ultimate price of a perfect life ended by the ones whom He came to save. The difference is that the rewards of freedom in Christ are eternal, where ours in this country are sadly, quite finite.

As I sit here typing out this short essay on my humble and inexperienced views regarding what freedom truly is, I cannot help but be overcome with guilt for being so unworthy of such a gift as immense as everlasting life. Like the problem with only having our one word for love, “Freedom” is more than just thinking I can challenge my president in a public forum, or pray openly without being thrown in prison. True freedom comes with knowing that no June 2014 | Whitesburg

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matter what I do, I am never going to be good enough to save myself. I will never reach a level of perfection in my life to deserve my salvation through my own righteousness. That is something that I was freely given by the one who sacrificed his life for ours, so that we may be truly free in Him. We are people who cannot begin to earn our true freedom, but we can be thankful and begin to give God all of His due glory, for that is what we are

here for. This whole thing we call life is about Him, and ensuring that all we do is to the glory of our most high God. Freedom is an astonishing, beautiful, stunning and wonderful gift. We must never forget that.

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5:13).

Sin is a tricky master. Sin

addiction, the first step is to acknowledge the problem. Our problem is sin. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” If the Bible is true, and I not only believe it to be so, but it has proven itself throughout history, then we all are sinners. Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Sin has one end, death and eternal destruction. That is a problem! Act 3:19 says, “Therefore repent and turn back,

how to find freedom in christ is always willing to allow us to live in the misconception that we are in charge of our lives, doing as we please, all the while it is leading us exactly where it wants us to go. Romans 6:16 says, “Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?” So, how do we find true freedom? It is found in Christ.

Much like overcoming any

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so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” There is an answer to sin. There is hope!

Freedom is found in Christ. Acts 4:12 says, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it.” Ephesians 2:8-9 states, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift - not from works, so that no one can boast.” John 14:6 says, “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” Clearly we cannot save ourselves. Our best efforts will always come up short. There is nothing we can do except receive the gift that God offers through his Son, Jesus.

Our problem is sin, the answer is Jesus, and the path is confession.

Romans 10:9-10 tells us that “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in

salvation.”

You may have heard that all you need to do to be saved is to pray the sinner’s prayer. There is no set prayer that brings salvation. Salvation comes when you acknowledge your sin to God, repent or turn from that sin and to God and receive the free gift of salvation offered in Jesus Christ. If this expresses the desire of your heart, then like a new born baby needs the love, protection and nourishment of a loving family and home, you need the same. Find a Bible believing church and get plugged in. If you are in the Huntsville area, please contact us here at Whitesburg Baptist Church, 256-881-0952, and let us celebrate your new life in Christ with you!

Watch true life stories about people who have found freedom and hope in Christ at FinditHere.com.

FinditHere.com is a ministry of thousands of churches across North America working together to share the hope, peace, purpose and life of Jesus Christ as described in the Bible.

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LEAVING

a legacy

By dr. lee barnett “How will I leave my

mark on the world?” I was brought up with this idea ingrained in my head. I had a need to be remembered for doing something great. “What will I be famous for? How will I display my power or fortune?”

These are not biblical questions.

Fortune, or wealth, is not to be my legacy. (It is a good thing since I am not wealthy by American standards.) What does money prove? A few people are remembered for being wealthy but that is about all that we remember about them. What is wealthy anyway? God owns it all—all creation submits to Him and glorifies Him for His great works. Wealth is so unimportant that God even uses gold to pave the streets of Heaven—what I struggle so hard to get He uses as asphalt. This is one reason that scripture states that God is “more precious than silver.”

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Fame and glory are not to be my legacy either. This is a tough one to swallow. We all want to stand out and be noticed—our obsession with celebrity reality TV proves my point. I used to look for opportunities to be seen and heard. Jesus warned us about seeking the “best seats at the banquet” and losing our perspectives in the pursuit of recognition. King David said, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” What makes me think I am so important? God is the one who deserves the glory.

Yahweh is the Famous One—not me.

Power is not to be my legacy either. My original life plan (not God’s) was to enter politics and walk the halls of power. We all want some amount of control over the world around us. The problem is that human power is at best fleeting and at worst an illusion. “Man plans his ways but

God directs his steps.” I must be willing to give over control of my world to God—let Him deal with the mess and trust Him to make things right according to His will.

My only power is that of Christ living in and working through me. I am weak but His strength is perfect.

I want to be more than a name on a plaque, an inherited bank account, or a “do you remember.”

My legacy is to make Jesus

known through my life. I make a mark by pointing others to Jesus.

Let my legacy be the impact that I can have on others for Christ— others who will do much greater things than I. Let my legacy be one of faith.

Dr. Lee Barnett is the president of Legacy Christian University. Learn more about Legacy at legacyu.net.

LEGACY

CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

Do you want to...

Make a difference in your community...

Increase your ministry effectiveness...

Learn more about the Bible...

If so, Legacy Christian University is for you.

Legacy Christian University 6806 Whitesburg Dr. SE Huntsville, AL 35802 256-704-5678, ext. 355

legacyu.net June 2014 | Whitesburg

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Joy By ryan ezell

Joy. What a difficult concept

to truly grasp. According to Merriam-Webster it is a “feeling of great happiness, or success in doing, finding, or getting something.” While this may be part of it, there is a major part that Merriam-Webster is leaving out, and that is Jesus Christ. True joy is not something that we experience based on the external circumstances of life that may bring great happiness.

Joy is something much bigger than our life circumstances and can only come from the Lord.

Let us share with you our story about the true joy that we get to experience on a daily basis.

Approximately 4 and a half years ago Jennifer and I were extremely happy with where we were in life, and our future plans. Everything was so 14

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bright and we were both finding success in so many things that we were doing. We had only been married about 3 years and we felt like we were still on our honeymoon truly enjoying the many blessings from God. Then our world got completely turned upside down in the matter of just a few weeks. We had no idea what was ahead of us, but we knew it was going to be difficult. In just a few weeks’ time we found out that I had cancer, and that our nephew, who was not even born yet, had a major issue that would more than likely prevent him from ever living a normal life, if he even survived his birth. This was not what we had planned in our future. Everything was so good just weeks before. We were too young to be dealing with cancer and life threatening

issues for our nephew. How were we going to get our plans back on track? Who would help us through these tough times? These are some of the thoughts that crossed our minds during this time of our life.

For many months I went through chemotherapy treatment after treatment and ultimately got a clean bill of health. Greyson Edwards, our nephew, was born very premature and the Lord gave us about a year and a half with him on earth before taking him to Heaven for eternity. This was by far the hardest time of our lives and our emotions were all over the map for 2 years. We would go through happy times and sad times.

Good news would come, followed by horrific news. Life’s circumstances led

us on a rollercoaster we couldn’t handle alone. Fortunately Christ was with us all along. He gave us the peace that surpasses all understanding. He gave us the joy that He promises to give. He is the only reason we were ever able to put a smile on our face and truly be grateful for what we were going through. We knew He was using each circumstance for His glory and we could experience joy in knowing that truth. It wasn’t always a time of great happiness, but it was always a time of great joy.

Through all of this we have experienced what true joy is, and count it a blessing to have gone through these life circumstances because it strengthened our relationship with each other, and with Christ.

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Psalm 1 By tom fluker

As a boy growing up in Ft. Knox, Kentucky, I remember how the neighborhood’s kids would go down to the baseball fields during the summer and play ball all day. It was a true delight to us. No one made us or planned it out; in fact our parents were hard pressed to keep us from it.

I’m reminded of this as I read Psalm 1. The Psalmist tells us of a man (verse 2) whose delight is God’s word, so much so that he continually meditates on it day and night. This is a man that has been made new and given a new spirit by Christ’s work on the cross. He has been given a love and appreciation of the things of God, chiefly his inspired word and law to us. This is not the picture of a man who considers his time in God’s word onerous and a dreaded chore that has to be done so he can please God. No more than we went to play baseball because we thought it would make our parents proud 16

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of us.

This is a descriptive passage of a righteous man and not prescriptive. By that I mean who the man is defines what he does; what he does, does not define who he is. Notice that his defining characteristic is that he delights in God’s word (law) and all his behavior and the results of his life and choices flow from that pleasure in God’s word. Because he delights in God’s word continually, he does not spend his time in a way that displeases God or that would cause him to stumble. It’s not so much that he chooses not to do these unwise things, as he chooses to do that which he is gratified by. When we choose the better things God has for us, we don’t have time or find our joy in anything else.

As you meditate on Psalm 1 it’s clear that this is a man who is enjoying life and is blessed.

It’s important to me that we see that the blessing and prosperity

Psalm 1 he obtains is not an added thing God gives him in reward of his focus, but is actually the result of his satisfaction in and focus on God’s word. This is a universal principle in scripture we see as well in Psalm 37 where the psalmist states that when we delight ourselves in the Lord, He gives us the desires of our heart.

Jesus confirms that He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly! What we want and desire, because we have been made new, is now aligned with what God wants and desires from us. There is no conflict. This is no “health and wealth” gospel, but one in which our prosperity is determined by how well and closely our actions and thoughts line up with God’s calling and His purpose for us. We are most joyful when whatever we are doing is founded on our delight in Him. And that starts in our love and focus on His word.

How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers!

Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.

He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not survive the judgment, and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

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A Walk in the Garden

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This summer you can see the work of our own Dr. Beth Cape at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens.

Beth is the Director of Preschool Ministries at Whitesburg Baptist Church and one of sixty-three local artists who were asked to paint a door for the Alice in Wonderland door maze. The display will be in place through August 31.

Beth drew inspiration for her door from some of her favorite things: flowers, gardens, scripture and her grandmother’s favorite hymn, “In the Garden”. One side of the door features Beth’s favorite flowers, sunflowers. The other side (pictured) presents a whimsical painting of a garden. Not just any garden though; this garden can be found at Whitesburg Baptist Church in the space between the children’s building and administrative offices.

Two years ago Beth took an ivyfilled, neglected space at the church and created a beautiful garden with a bubbling urn, birdbath, trellis, stone path and many colorful flowers. This garden can now be enjoyed by members and guests at Whitesburg Baptist Church, as well as being a part of the Huntsville Botanical Gardens’ exhibit.

Preparing for Prosperity By holly crosson How do you define

prosperity? If you’re like the majority of the world you define prosperity by how much wealth, possessions, or status a person has. However, in Joshua 1:8 we find that it says “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” See the difference? We as Christians are called to a different standard than those of the world. True prosperity is not measured in material possessions such as a large home and fancy car, but

instead in how well we keep God’s word.

As my husband and I are getting ready to start our family, it’s easy to buy into the world’s philosophy that we need to make a lot of money to be prosperous. But when we apply God’s point of view, our main focus shifts to raising our children to grow up to know, love, and serve God. Because at the end of the day, we cannot take our money with us but the legacy we create now will continue to grow and strengthen from generation to generation. God’s plan for our lives is eternal while the worlds plan is only temporal.

June 2014 | Whitesburg

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He Restores My Soul By trisha stacey

Summertime is here,

and those resolutions I made at the beginning of the year seem like a distant memory.

There are so many times that a fresh start is needed to get my life centered back on what God wants me to focus my time and energy on. This is an exhausting and hectic time of the year for some, and the chaos of it all has weighed heavily on me. One particular night as I was drifting off to sleep, the words from a very familiar Psalm flooded my mind. “He restores my soul.”

Just that one line resonated so deeply with me. For the last couple weeks I have meditated on it. It has comforted me and given me hope, because I understand how a fresh start is possible any time of the year!

When my soul is weary or I lose focus, there is nothing in my own power I can do but turn to the Lord. The Spirit reenergizes me! All the discouragement that comes from living in this world is simply washed away by His

restoration. What joy and hope!

The truth of the promises found in Psalm 23 lead my heart to worship Him. Here are a couple songs that I highly suggest to get your heart in a posture of worship: Kari Jobe’s “Forever” is an excellent song about Christ defeating death. He is alive!

Dustin Kensrue’s “Grace Alone” focuses on the grace that we are so undeserving of, and the debt that Jesus paid so that we might be called His sons and daughters.

“Worthy, Worthy” by Vertical Church Band is a song declaring the holiness of God with beautifully crafted verses.

“Power in the Name of Jesus”

by Ascend the Hill is a heartfelt cry of praise for the redemption and power that is found in His Name.

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B A P T I S T C H U R C H

W H I T E S B U R G

the caring place

LIFE Groups 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00 am Blended Traditional Service 9:30 am Contemporary Service 11:00 am Evening Service 6:15 pm

Come worship with us on Sundays!

6806 Whitesburg Drive Huntsville, AL 35802

Whitesburg Baptist Church

PAID

Huntsville, AL Permit 446

Non-Profit Organization US Postage